Businesses should Keep Tabs on Bottom Lines & SDGs

As I have often written in this blog, sustainability and business and profitability go hand in hand. If you’ve been following my articles, you’ve read my often repeated reference to an outstanding windfall that’s in store for businesses and industries when they become sustainable.

Businesses that incorporate some or all of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) developed by the UN into their business and marketing plans and become active in building sustainable industries will reap the benefit of greater revenue. The World Business Council for Sustainable Development anticipates that the sustainability windfall could be as high as $12 trillion a year and create as much as 380 million jobs in the course of the next decade. A slice of that would surely satisfy any business owner.

Sustainability, environmental protection and climate change are expected to remain on business agendas forever and affect established companies, startups, investors, funders and Wall Street. Not only should business owners mind their bottom lines but also the SDGs.

United Nations Call

In response to rapid global social-ecological changes — climate change, resource scarcity, social exclusion, change of customers’ demands, coronavirus — and the United Nations’ call for actions to attain the SDGs, many large and small businesses from a wide range of industries have risen to the challenges and taken actions to contribute to sustainable development.

To be sure, covid-19 has clearly taught us that we – humankind – are more connected than we have realized. We can transmit deadly viruses from one person to the next, from one town and state to the next, and from one country to the next. We can also convey around the world the positive effects of sustainability and detrimental influences of environmental pollution.

However, global sustainability challenges cannot be resolved with the effort of a single individual, business or sector. Just like covid-19 cannot be eradicated by one scientist or government. In addition to governments, social institutions and local communities, business leaders are stepping up and making contribution towards this important agenda.

According to Paul Polman, former CEO of Unilever and a passionate global spokesman for sustainability, “Business can, in fact, be a tremendous force for good and make a huge contribution to solving the biggest problems facing our people and planet. Actually, this is the only way for business to be accepted in society and it should always strive to have a net positive impact.”

Indeed, with consumers’ comprehensive buying power skyrocketing in all segments, businesses that accept their beneficial roles in sustainability, environmental protection and climate change will reap the benefits of their buyers’ purchases. Those that don’t, could soon find their destinies on the ash heap of history.

Ethical Conduct is Precondition

In an interview with Mongabay.com, Polman continued: “You simply cannot expect to build a business with longevity and resilience if you don’t embed ethical conduct in all you do. This is now a precondition for any successful company and if you do not move to a more responsible, sustainable and equitable way of doing business, then you don’t deserve to have any business at all.”

For sustainability in all of its 17 formulations to be achievable, its advocates must strive to fulfill two simple but necessary steps. Polman said he has observed that corporate leadership in this field can change the mindset of other companies. “Especially, in demonstrating the power of partnerships to drive system-level change, whether that’s taking bold climate action; transitioning to the circular economy; supporting ‘nature-based solutions’; or accelerating food systems’ transformation,” he said.

Furthermore, it is important for a company whose ownership and management are committed to the SDGs to demonstrate their dedication to all of the employees. In other words, buy-in is key to success. “I’m equally proud of the culture we helped to incubate, which was ultimately about helping people succeed. Something that would not have been possible without the enormous commitment and passion of many. A CEO’s responsibility is really about inspiring and uniting people behind a common purpose and then helping them to find their own clear sense of direction. Releasing energy in others.”

As an obvious, contemporary example of the potential of success of a concerted partnership, Polman cited the attempts to tackle coronavirus. “I think on balance the business community deserves huge credit for its response to the pandemic, as there are many examples of constructive collaboration across the private sector aimed at protecting lives and livelihoods. Whether that’s consumer goods manufacturers producing hand sanitizers, the fashion industry making masks, or the engineering sector building ventilators,” he said.

Employees of small and medium businesses (SMBs) feel strongly about their employers’ sustainability practices, revealed Salesforce Research. Three-quarters of the respondents from companies with 250 or less employees say corporate sustainability is a moral imperative. However, Salesforce Research found, SMBs are far less likely than larger companies to have an actual sustainability program or strategy. While 69% of respondents at companies with over 1,000 employees said their company had a sustainability program or plan, only 37% at companies with 250 or less employees said the same.

Sustainability Steps aren’t Complicated

Designing a sustainability or climate change plan for a business is not that difficult. You’ve undertaken a similar exercise when you created your business plan. Knowledge is the first requirement. Conviction and passion the next two. Business owners, management and employees can contribute to the success of the program. Designate a sustainability leader, the employee or two who will constitute the cheering team. Find an executive sponsor and measure everything that you do. Create a vision, set your goals, strategize and then take action. Stay committed. Soon you’ll see that what you do in sustainability contributes to your bottom line and the success of your bottom line will reinforce your environmental efforts.

Share your vision, plan and successes with your trading partners and get them involved. Inform your customers who will be eager to know what you’re doing. Tell your elected officials and news media. Organize events.

While the numerous benefits of jumping on the sustainability bandwagon should be sufficient to convince businesses to do so, the downside of not doing so also has its persuasive powers. The World Economic Forum estimates that “even if we meet all the climate commitments of the Paris Agreement, temperatures can be expected to rise this century to 3.2C above pre-industrial levels, far above the 1.5C threshold to avoid the most severe climate impacts. While this may not seem like much, it can contribute to the manifestation of immense catastrophes, such as the ongoing wildfire crisis in Australia spurred by heatwaves and flash floods in Indonesia. We would be wise to prepare for this – and business is no exception.”

Climate change presents complex and interconnected risks to businesses, their suppliers, and to the employees and communities along their supply chains. Mitigation efforts—those focused on reducing greenhouse gas emissions—are vital to any company’s climate strategy and critical to global efforts to avoid unmanageable climate impacts. As the impacts of climate change are increasingly felt around the world, however, it has become clear that simultaneous efforts are necessary to increase adaptive capacity and build resilience.

Temperature Changes Cause Global Calamities

Calamities created by even slight climate changes and temperature fluctuations can considerably damage global and local commerce. The first step to better managing the growing climate risks that businesses face is understanding them. The potential economic costs of inaction are staggering. Damage done by climate-related disasters and extreme weather in 2018 alone cost the US around $160 billion, and the numbers are only expected to increase as hazards become more complex and unpredictable.

Businesses are also bracing themselves for direct impact to their bottom lines. In 2018, 215 of the world’s 500 biggest corporations, including giants like Apple, JPMorgan, Chase, Nestle and The 3M Company, reported climate-related financial risks of just under $1 trillion.

Then with around 80% of global trade embedded in supply chains, business leaders are increasingly aware of risks that could affect their ability to move through the world, including issues of cost, speed and responsiveness. In fact, CDP data reveals that 76% of suppliers have identified ways in which climate change could increase the risk of disruptions to their business.

In an article by Anthony Britterri, editor-in-chief of New Jersey Business Magazine, Catherine McCabe, commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), reinforced the belief that good environmental policy and good business go hand in hand. “We all share a common goal in building a strong resilient New Jersey for the future, both economically and environmentally. The best way to ensure that is to maintain strong, open dialogues,” McCabe said at a virtual town hall meeting sponsored by the New Jersey Business & Industry Association and the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce.

McCabe admitted that the DEP’s greatest priority right now is climate change, which she called the “No.1 threat to New Jersey’s long-term future. We need to build our resiliency to ensure the state remains not only safe for its citizens, but also a hub for businesses,” she said.

McCabe discussed the state’s first Scientific Report on Climate Change, which she said serves as the foundation for policy decisions going forward. “Raising awareness (of climate change) is perhaps the most important thing we can do. Issuing the report is good for all academicians, policy people and business people,” McCabe pointed out. The most important message from the report is that climate change is already here as seen by higher temperatures, more severe storms and an increase in coastal and inland flooding,” McCabe said.

New Jersey businesses and residents should sit up and listen when they hear flooding. After all, the Garden State enjoys a 130-plus mile coast.

Every journey begins with the first step and that also includes a sustainable journey. After you’ve committed to following this course, even a few of the points, you should contact the New Jersey Sustainable Business Registry and inquire about meeting its criteria for joining the list of sustainable small businesses. Contact NJSBinfo@NJSBDC.com. An experienced sustainability consultant will be happy to speak with you in person, on-line, or by phone. You can also find out more about these programs by visiting the Sustainability Consulting page on NJSBDC’s website (http://www.njsbdc.com/sustainability-consulting/).

Helping Restaurants and Foodservice

Restaurants and foodservice make up a significant portion of any community’s economy. They’re not only places where families can enjoy solid meals any time of day but they’re also places for personal and social networking, entertainment and relaxation. And last but not least, they’re places of employment and personal development. Just imagine how many CEOs of any industry began as burger flippers, wait staffers, busboys or dishwashers.

Restaurants – the epitome of small businesses – are a vital American economic mainstay.

There are more than 19,000 restaurants in the Garden State, with 348,000-plus jobs and $18.1 billion in sales. It’s not as glamorous as the media pretends. It’s a tough job with long hours that requires dedication to excellence, safety and consumer satisfaction. It’s been said that if you want to make a little money in the restaurant business, invest a lot of money in it. No kidding.

Restaurants in the state and around the country are suffering right now because of covid-19 and many of them are closing their doors temporarily – as the famous Grand Central Oyster Bar – or forever – as the Friendly’s chain announced on Monday. Indeed, 39 popular New Jersey restaurants have closed forever while IHOP announced it will soon close 100 locations due to coronavirus. While foodservice depends on the man, woman and family on the street for business, the industry also has stepped up to the plate to help itself with a variety of in-store promotions meant to attract patrons.

The industry has also taken its case to Capitol Hill.

The International Foodservice Distributors Association, the trade organization of wholesale companies coast-to-coast that deliver food and non-food products and offer consultative services to foodservice operators, has appealed to Congress to help the industry as it deals with covid-19 while struggling to keep its doors open.

The association thanked Chairwoman Nydia Velazquez (D-NY), Ranking Member Steve Chabot (R-OH) and the House Committee on Small Business for holding a hearing on the impact of covid-19 on small businesses in the food industry.

According to IFDA, the foodservice industry has been particularly hard hit due to government closures and occupancy restrictions and urgently needs congressional action to provide economic relief. “The foodservice distribution industry was pleased with many of the provisions included in the recent House proposal. In particular, the provision for a second round of Paycheck Protection Program loans and the inclusion of payments for inventory, raw materials or supplies as allowable and forgivable expenses. In addition, the bill would establish a $120 billion grant program for restaurants, bars and food trucks. While this is a great first step, IFDA urges that eligibility be expanded to cover independently owned franchise restaurants as well as small regional chains,” its statement read.

Mark S. Allen, president and CEO of IFDA, offered the following observation ahead of the congressional committee hearing:
“As these witnesses attest, this crisis has been devastating to the foodservice industry. Congress must help small businesses that are the backbone of our country and food supply chain. We support these companies and ask Congress and the Administration to continue in their negotiations on another covid-19 relief bill. In particular, we are happy to see the recent House bill includes PPP and direct aid to restaurants who have been among the hardest hit industries. Unfortunately, the House proposal denies federal support for small regional chain restaurants, as well as individual owners of small franchise restaurants. Even more restaurants and jobs will be saved if the House adopts the Senate version of the RESTAURANTS Act. Led by Sens. Roger Wicker (R-MS) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), it takes a balanced approach to providing federal support to all restaurants that are suffering. IFDA implores Congress to support our nation’s restaurants and their partners, like foodservice distributors, who deliver the food and supplies to keep professional kitchens cooking.”

It would be beneficial if foodservice operators and restaurateurs – and patrons – contact their elected officials regarding this great need.
IFDA warned its members’ customers that due to the pandemic the outlook is bleak:

• Leading indicators suggest US Industrial Production business cycle decline will extend into early 2021. • However, COVID-19 case spikes and renewed shutdowns could extend that outlook further.

• Business owners should ask themselves: what can I do now to be ready for recovery next year?

• Foodservice sales annual growth rate is down -9.2% in June, and expected to be down -19.3% for 2020, placing the industry in a recession phase.

• Grocery store sales are seeing accelerating growth, expecting to grow 12.7% this year

The National Restaurant Association also took their members’ case to officialdom by joining with members from the U.S. Conference of Mayors to talk about finding ways to help restaurants stay in business as covid-19 continues to ravage the small business landscape.

As the pandemic does an about face with another surge this fall, restaurant owners and operators have to be well versed in the latest safety requirements and advice in order to assure their clients that the environment in which they offer food and the food itself is safe as well as to nutritious. Restaurateurs have to be clever and nimble to remain in business.

“It’s been an incredibly hard time, no one’s seen this challenge before,” the association’s Mike Whatley observed in news media. “You are seeing a lot of creativity amongst operators.”

For example, a restaurant in Queens, NY, solved two problems for the busy professional – where to work and where to eat. The operator offered business people the opportunity to use its Queensboro restaurant on Northern Boulevard in Jackson Heights to satisfy both needs. For an extra fee in addition to food, the patrons were given a venue with WiFi where they could work and a meal. Reservations required and social distancing enforced.

Another idea along these lines, though slightly more daring, would be to promote your restaurant as a meeting venue or classroom for adults. By assigning specific hours and designating a safe, functional environment, the operator can be assured of at least some regular even repeat business now that the restaurants that have survived have been allowed to open.

In Miami, one restaurant found salvation in alternating its menu selections quicker than feasible. Picture Laotian, then Italian, then French, then whoever rents the kitchen. French-Persian restaurant Fooq’s rents its kitchen to chefs and operators to keep the premises open and apparently it’s worked.

In the City of Brotherly Love, restaurateurs pooled their creativity and perhaps desperation by joining forces to launch “Save Philly Restaurants,” a collaboration that called on local officials to implement industry-friendly initiatives such as street closures to accommodate outdoor dining. One result of that effort was the loosening of restrictions on alcohol sales, which allowed one operator to sell cocktails-to-go – a hit with local customers. Restaurants also rapidly built up their online infrastructure to take delivery orders, which were nonexistent before the pandemic.

With homeschooling and homeworking on the rise, you’d think that coffee consumption has changed. It did but not down. Americans are drinking just as much coffee during the pandemic, as often as before, but at home instead of in coffee shops and restaurants. Online purchases have jumped by 57% as coffee buyers cut back on trips to the supermarket, according to the survey commissioned by the National Coffee Association (NCA). Consumer habits for the period in August 26 to September 3 were similar to those in a January poll, with six in 10 people drinking coffee every day, at an average of 2.9 cups per day. “App-based ordering, including delivery, rocketed up 63% amongst those who drank coffee in the last week. Drive through ordering increased 13% amongst those who drank coffee each day,” the NCA reported.

Consequently, restaurants should note that app-based ordering with delivery may also reap the benefits of this dynamic technology. Actually, technology is a major contributor to a foodservice operations’ survival.

As an added attention grabber, operators should continue promoting popular consumer-driven buzzwords such as organic, healthy and sustainable and add visible notices and requirements about masks, social distancing and safety. Savvy owners should publicize their cleaning and disinfecting strategy thereby reassuring customers that their safety in the restaurant is paramount.

The National Restaurant Association recently published a covid-19 brochure titled Safe Operating Guidance that can be downloaded for free: https://restaurant.org/articles/news/download-latest-covid-19-safe-operating-guidance.

On the down side, as operators are well aware, even though they’re allowed to open their doors, their biggest challenge is that their businesses are designed to run at their fullest capacity. Permission to open with 50% capacity limits, 25% limits doesn’t work. It won’t matter how much takeout or outdoor seating they do; they’re still losing money. The question is how much business can you do to get by?

With federal, state and local funds available, some mayors recommend that every effort should be made to streamline the application process for any grants that are offered to already stressed-out restaurateurs. The sooner they get funding, the sooner they’ll return to business and pump money into the economy.

In New Jersey, useful information and consultation can be acquired for free from the New Jersey Small Business Development Centers (https://njsbdc.com/). Additionally, operators can visit this site for information: https://faq.business.nj.gov/en/articles/4299457-what-is-the-njeda-e-commerce-technical-assistance-program-and-is-my-business-eligible. There operators can find information about the federal Paycheck Protection Program that has helped many of them bring back many workers.

On a similar note that restaurateurs should be aware of, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is planning to develop a new food safety strategy in reply to coronavirus, sustainability and other concerns. In a rationale for the strategy, it was noted how changes in food systems require a need to rethink the place of food safety in sustainable development: “The relevance of food safety to society, economic development, and sustainable food systems need to be better understood and promoted. A new food safety strategy should further address One Health issues, such as antimicrobial resistance, emerging zoonotic diseases, climate change, agricultural intensification, new technologies, innovation, food fraud, digitalization of food systems, and circular economies. The covid-19 pandemic also demonstrates the increased relevance of food safety in emergency food assistance and humanitarian food aid.”

Experts, scientists and doctors are foreseeing the pandemic chaining America and the world for many more months. Consequently, be prepared for some communities and states to mandate longer or shorter painful lockdowns.

In today’s business climate, book and school knowledge is helpful as at all times. However, contemporary successful business owners and entrepreneurs must also develop a high degree of creativity, flexibility, courage and speed. Foodservice operators must transform themselves into chameleons by adopting and adapting quickly to new situations and trends in order to survive and thrive.

Operators should consider their capacity needs for 2021 based not only on what the consultants are forecasting but also on what they’re seeing on their streets. Take advantage of low interest rates to invest in the equipment and technology necessary to accommodate future growth.

Restaurateurs should utilize any downtime afforded by lower economic activity to train and prepare themselves and their kitchen and front-of-the-house staffs for upcoming trends as well as implement technological improvements to ensure they are competitive on quality and price.

The restaurant business is about people not only food. Patrons are neighbors who return for good food, ambiance, talk and networking. Like the lyrics to “Cheers”: Sometimes you wanna go; Where everybody knows your name; And they’re always glad you came; You wanna be where you can see; Our troubles are all the same; You wanna be where everybody knows your name.

For example, Rudy’s on Anderson Avenue in Cliffside Park, NJ, is regularly packed with locals in the middle of the day. Owner Tommy Sudano knows how to keep his patrons well fed and happy. There are countless Rudy’s across the state and country. Loyalty and patronage are as a valuable as cash and must be rewarded.

Engaging with loyal customers amid the pandemic is great way owners can drive business and remain viable. Build an archive of emails and phone numbers from takeout and delivery orders to reconnect with patrons and keep them updated on restaurant specials and promotions to help drive more business. Most importantly, communicate regularly with them on the safety precautions the restaurant is taking to keep diners safe. This will ultimately increase patron confidence in dining-in or ordering takeout, helping to boost repeat customers and sales.

Promote your restaurant, safety requisites and concern for patrons and they’ll be back.

What to Expect as You Reopen Your Business

So you’ve reopened your business or are planning to do so. That means you’re in a better condition than many other small business owners that were forced to close due to the disastrous pandemic.

While you’re opening, you should be aware that it won’t be a walk in the park. You were given permission to do so by state and municipal officials but the path to success is covered with fickle, disheartened consumers and knotty supply chains.

Perusing a variety of stories about this phase of society’s battle against the coronavirus, I’ve assembled a host of suggestions and thoughts that will help flatten the road.

First of all, if you are fortunate enough to have the funds on hand to open your business and re-staff your store or plant, take heart in the prospect that worker pool is well stocked. According to the US Census, despite the growth in online retail sales, the retail workforce continues to have a substantial presence in the US labor force and the number of people employed in retail jobs has grown this decade.

In 2018, 9.8 million workers had jobs as cashiers, retail salespersons or first-line supervisors of retail salespersons, up from 9.6 million in 2010. Together, these occupations accounted for 6.3% of the total U.S. labor force.

Young, less educated women earning low wages, said the census bureau, characterize the typical retail worker in the United States. Minorities are overrepresented in retail work but non-Hispanic Whites still make up the majority (60%) of the retail workforce. In 2018, around 1.3 million retail workers were employed by grocery stores. The count of retail workers in general merchandise stores, including warehouse clubs and supercenters, was around 865,000. In addition, 535,000 worked in department stores.

Furthermore, with unemployment painfully high, your chances of selecting employees from a deep barrel are very good.

 

Understand Conditions and Trends

Your success will also be based on your understanding of the current conditions and emerging trends as you embark on the new road to viability. Covid-19 is the catalyst for innovation throughout person-to-person commerce, according to several specialists. Retailers that have not been able to adjust to the new economic environment are leaving Main Street and their absence is creating additional opportunities for forward-looking, versatile entrepreneurs. 

Covid-19 has drastically changed consumer and retailer behavior in unpredictable ways, causing the historic retail recession. Every day newspapers are filled with stories about business closures. Today’s retail news was led by Century 21’s announcement that it is closing all of its locations everywhere.
The current recession that came as a result of Covid-19 was triggered by an unprecedented, abrupt, and sustained slowdown in consumer activity. Virtually overnight and for a sustained duration, consumers stopped purchasing goods, going out to eat, traveling, and even leaving their homes. They were scared.

If you’re in the travel industry, then you aware that the United Nations has reported that the tourism industry faces $1 trillion in losses and 100 million jobs are at risk from Covid-19.

Big companies are going bankrupt at a record pace, but that’s only part of the massacre. By some accounts, small businesses are disappearing by the thousands amid the Covid-19 pandemic, and the drag on the economy from these failures could be huge.

As if department stores didn’t have enough troubles, it looks like shoppers are starting to walk away from visiting their physical stores as the Covid-19 pandemic continues. New research from Placer.ai, the consulting service that monitors retail foot traffic, shows that shopper visits to Macy’s, JCPenney and Dillard’s started to trail off in July following substantial gains in the two months before. Citing the surge of Covid-19 cases across most of the country this summer, Placer.ai said “a clear trend has emerged across the department store sector with recoveries stymied by a resurgence in (virus) cases leading to a reversal of the positive trends seen in May and June.”

At each of the three national retailers, store traffic began to fall starting in the second half of June and continuing to July. Prior to that the department stores saw impressive gains as they reopened and consumers began to emerge from stay-at-home requirements. While none of the stores were hitting 2019 levels, they were edging closer until pandemic numbers began to rise again.

 

Products, Interactions, Convenience, Trust

Business owners must be primed to look for important product and preference trends that will help them satisfy consumers and stay open for the indefinite length of the pandemic. Among them are these four: product mix, consumer interactions, convenience factor and trust.

While several well-known brands are shrinking their real estate footprint and closing many of their locations, shoppers continue to value convenience, but now they’ve added at least one new requirement to their list: safety. “Success has been measured by how clean and safe you can make the shopping environment and experience,” David Birnbrey, co-CEO of retail-focused real estate advisory firm The Shopping Center Group, told Commercial Property Executive. In order to feel comfortable, consumers need prompt service, social distancing, contactless transactions and hand sanitizers. “The in-store experience needs to emphasize the customer’s health and well-being,” Glenn Brill, managing director in FTI Consulting’s real estate solutions practice, added.

In other words, business owners must do their research, keep their eyes peeled and ears to the ground, offer customers easy and safe shopping experiences, and confidence that the likelihood of contracting the coronavirus in their stores is at a minimum. Sell compassion and service rather than price.

“Retailers can expect the status quo of retail to be challenged. With direct interaction between stores and shoppers replaced by virtual touchpoints, retailers may even need to reconsider the role of stores in the customer experience. Processing returns, supply chain management, and fulfillment processes may also need to be reimagined,” observed Matt Marsh, Minneapolis managing partner of Deloitte LLP.

Rather than going it alone, thinking that you have all of the answers, retailers will do better when they understand what’s happening on the street and embrace the new approaches and trends. They are indeed different than they were during Christmas 2019. You may have read that several large department stores have already announced that Black Friday will be a thing of the past. As a small business, how will you participate in the annual or semiannual small business sales days? Foreplaning, creativity and ingenuity will win the day. Here’s another concept: Anticipation.

 

Online Prospects

In order to boost sales, many brick retailers have gone to the other side and launched online divisions.  A year ago, 81% of shoppers surveyed by Gallup said they never turned to the Internet for groceries, leaving online shopping at around 3% of all grocery sales, or about $1.2 billion, according to a survey by Brick Meets Click/Mercatus. But in June, in the middle of the pandemic lockdown, online grocery sales in the United States hit $7.2 billion.

Amazon, which owns more than 500 Whole Foods stores, reports that online grocery sales tripled year-over-year and it increased grocery delivery capacity by more than 160% and tripled grocery pickup locations during the second quarter of this year. Physical store sales saw revenue drop 13% to $3.8 billion during Q2.

That’s a noteworthy solution but remember you’ll need staffers to pack, load and deliver the purchases. Beyond that option, you might want to consider Walmart’s decision to experiment with drone deliveries.

Pandemic shopping has ushered in wider store aisles, new methods of sanitation and less-crowded stores. Customers with masks wait outdoors or enter in a numbered pattern. Researchers say shoppers want these changes to stay. Nonetheless, there are still those inconsiderate buyers who don’t wear masks and walk in the wrong direction. In order to assuage the concerns of rule-abiding customers and assure that they won’t look for other stores, owners and managers may have to strictly enforce health and safety regulations by even resorting to evicting transgressors.

Health concerns have also accelerated the growth in payment apps and self-checkout. Walmart is testing a new system that replaces traditional checkout lines with an open plaza ringed by 34 terminals. Shoppers can scan their purchases, or wave down an employee to do the scanning for them. Kroger intends to double down on customer choice, offering an array of options including self-checkout stations and an app that allows consumers to scan and pay as they shop, as well as traditional cashiers.

 

The Retail Closet

Pampering your customers is probably the customer relations experience that has turned the corner and staring retailers in the face. Some say that this is best demonstrated by bringing the store to the consumer.

Michelle Collins, founder & president of A Non-Agency, is an experiential marketer who is convinced that individualized experiences will be the next big thing in retail. She told CPExecutive.com that her new concept, dubbed “the retail closet,” will be successful because it’s safe, sustainable and entertaining.

Collins explained that retail closets are small retail spaces within commercial or multifamily properties, where brands can bring their collections in front of customers who can come in solo or with a few guests. By making an appointment and pre-sharing their preferred styles and sizes, clients can shop undisturbed. This personalized and exclusive shopping environment even allows for an entertainment element “like exclusive dining options where customers can entertain their guests as they shop, sip champagne and enjoy small plates prepared under the purview of one of New York’s or Los Angeles’ hottest chefs,” Collins said.

Small businesses, the so-called mom-and-pop shops, also face challenges that can be overcome with the proper steps. According to Dr. Arturo E. Osorio, assistant professor of entrepreneurship, management and global business at Rutgers University, Newark, NJ, “Current conditions have set a new definition of ‘normalcy’ for business, in general, that might be particularly present for small businesses understood as single-owner/family-owned operations below $1 million a year. Among these challenges, you will find: lower customer density allowed, less frequent visits, more purpose-driven interactions with lower chances of negotiations, and technology challenges serving customers/clients.”

Osorio recommends the following actions:

• lower customer density allowed and/or less frequent visits. Provide opportunities to have follow-up sales and interactions outside of the brick-and-mortar location. For example pre-empt visits with phone calls and/or online service. Provide follow up opportunities to access products and services that complement the original purchase. Offer automatic re-order with no hassle delivery protocols;

• more purpose-driven interactions with lower chances of negotiations. Prepare “bundle-deals” for customers so they get better value propositions on their purchases, allow for subscription style services so clients engage in long term relationships with the business; and

• technology challenges serving customers/clients. Provide free training opportunities to staff and clients/customers. Make clients/customers feel comfortable in their transition to virtual interactions. Ensure the business is ready to hold virtual/distance/remote operations.

Osorio adds “it is necessary that businesses create a new service/product delivery system that allows for online sales followed by no-hassle home delivery. This new type of operations need to leverage the business identity and quality of services while expanding the reach and provide a new way to interact with customers.” He suggests that the latest technology should be used to facilitate this new virtual space such as: video-conferencing, cloud storage, virtual teamwork, e-commerce platforms, online payment, and website domain services.

And what are they talking about on social media? Here are the top words on Twitter, according to GobalData: stores – 323 mentions, e-commerce – 205 mentions, shopping – 93 mentions, sales – 77 mentions, and startups – 46 mentions. The searchers are looking for what retailers, businessmen and consumers are talking about in those categories. So if you Tweet, you should look for hashtags with those words.

In today’s business climate, book and school knowledge is helpful as at all times. However, contemporary successful business owners and entrepreneurs must also possess a high degree of creativity, flexibility, courage and speed.

As I’ve written before, you can also avail yourselves of a range of cost-free consulting services for small businesses. The New Jersey Small Business Development Center (NJSBDC) comes to mind as a wonderful institution that helps entrepreneurs launch and grow their businesses https://njsbdc.com/. All states have comparable organizations. Try them and they’ll help you thrive.

New Jersey Allocates $6MM for Wind & Other Clean Energy Projects

I first heard of this prospect from Assemblyman Gordon M. Johnson of the 37^th District in Bergen County.

In an interview with the Garden State lawmaker in June of last year, I learned that off-shore wind systems will be built near New Jersey not only to promote green energy but also to offer commercial opportunities to a range of small businesses.

Johnson said at the time that the ecology offers vast business opportunities for New Jersey firms in terms of sub-contracting for green energy projects.

“Small businesses and the legislature must have a vision of what they want New Jersey to look like 20 years from now. In that vision should be green energy, sustainability, and reducing the carbon footprint,” he had noted.

According to news reports, this plan now calls for New Jersey to spend almost $6 million to train workers for jobs in the wind energy industry and to support new companies that deal in clean energy. The New Jersey Economic Development Authority and the state Board of Public Utilities said on September 9 they have approved two funding agreements, according to New Jersey Channel 12.

In the first, the state will provide $4.5 million to support workforce development projects aimed at preparing more New Jersey workers for jobs in offshore wind. In the second, $1.25 million will be made available to support early-stage, New Jersey-based clean tech companies.

Johnson appreciates that sustainability is a vital contemporary concept that attracts the attention of entrepreneurs because it offers benefits to the community as well as small businesses. He said during our conversation that millennials in particular support companies that are sustainable, environmentally friendly and promote green energy.

Consumer Confidence Plunges

This isn’t the kind of news that business owners want to hear as they prepare to reopen their businesses. Consumer confidence has fallen — again.

According to The Conference Board, the gauge of American consumer attitudes about spending dropped to 84.8 – below expectations and down from 91.7 in July.

That’s even far lower than in June when it was 98.3, which was regarded as fair amount of optimism building among consumers as the economy was opening and some people were being called back to work.

However, The Conference Board noted, the summer weeks rolled on with roller coaster reports about coronavirus cases, new waves of deaths, consumers’ distrust of masks and the disease, lack of leadership, lost wages, states pausing their reopenings, schools starting virtually or not starting, fear, and gridlock in Washington over extending unemployment benefits – “It’s all taking a toll on the American consumer.”

Economist Lynn Franco at The Conference Board believes consumers are getting more pessimistic about their economic situation.

“That cloud of uncertainty seems to be covering the majority of consumers,” Franco said. “There’s not much of an expectation that business conditions or employment are going to improve, and we’ve actually seen consumers grow a little bit more negative about their financial well-being.”

“Rising virus cases that are resulting in a pause or rollbacks of reopenings are no doubt weighing on sentiment,” opined Rubeela Farooqi, chief US economist at High Frequency Economics in White Plains, NY. “Consumers are also concerned about job and income prospects. Without virus containment that will allow a fuller reopening of the economy, confidence measures will remain under pressure going forward.”

With contradictory information circulating everywhere, most levelheaded consumers aren’t going to abandon caution like those who are partying as if there is no tomorrow. They are just as watchful about how to resume schooling for their children as they are about going to the local restaurant, supermarket or department store. But they are concerned that while they abide by the rules about masks, social distancing and washing hands, they see that their neighbors demean those safety requirements. Traffic flow patterns in department stores are ignored. Some people wear masks, some wear them incorrectly while others don’t wear them at all.

Nonetheless, even in this unfavorable environment, business owners must open their doors for their benefit as well as their communities and country. But how to do that? I believe that rather than trumpet products, which in most cases consumers still need or want, and prices, business owners should turn down the fanfare and address the real needs of their current and potential consumers. And that is to assuage people’s hesitation, concerns and fears. The marketing should focus on understanding and sympathy with customers’ anxieties and assurances that you are doing everything possible to make their shopping experience safe, secure and enjoyable as it was a year ago. And if you say “no masks, no entry,” then evict those who don’t.

Once you do that, word of mouth will attract shoppers to your stores.

I’ve said this before. You can also avail yourself of a range of cost-free expert consulting services for small businesses. The New Jersey Small Business Development Center is a fantastic institution that helps entrepreneurs launch and grow their businesses https://njsbdc.com/.

 Reopening: Only the Strong will Survive

After six months of cleaning cobwebs in their businesses, owners are ready to open their doors to eager consumers. However, there are serious pitfalls and challenges that must be understood, managed and overcome in order to ensure a successful revival.

Big companies are going bankrupt at an historic pace, but that’s only part of the massacre, reported Bloomberg News. By some accounts, small businesses are disappearing by the thousands amid the covid-19 pandemic, and the drag on the economy from these failures could be huge.

The new business landscape will not be easy to traverse. For example, more than 2,800 businesses in New York City have permanently closed since March 1, according to data from Yelp, the business listing and review site, a higher number than in any other large American city. Small-business owners pointed out they have exhausted federal and local assistance and see no end in sight after months of sharp revenue drops. Now, many are closing their shops and restaurants for good. A shocking 21% of American small businesses report having only about six months to live if economic conditions remain unimproved.

 

19% Believe in their Survivability

According to the results of a new survey from the National Federation of Small Business (NFIB) Research Center released Monday, making matters worse, only 19% of small business owners believe they can make it 7-12 months without an improvement in the economic environment.

Eileen Kean, the state director of NFIB’s New Jersey chapter, observed that “In New Jersey, the results of this survey come as no surprise when many state small businesses were hard hit and unable to come back financially with restrictions still in place and consumers hesitant to patronize certain types of businesses. The travel and entertainment industries continue to suffer and small restaurants still can’t make a profit with no diners allowed indoors. Financial assistance is still needed from state and federal government if they are going to survive this economic crisis.”

Holly Wade, NFIB director of research and policy analysis, noted that “The health crisis is not impacting small businesses equally. Small businesses are adapting to the abrupt shifts in consumer spending, managing customer and employees’ health and safety, and complying with state and local mandates which are all creating additional stress for small business owners. Many of them still need more financial assistance just to keep their doors open and staff on payroll.”

These sobering observations should not dissuade you from your reopening plans. But before hanging an “Open for Business” sign on the door, small businessmen and women must analyze not only their business plan adjusted for this unparalleled environment but also truthfully access their chances for survival. Part of that assessment must include seriously judging your decision and true grit to persevere and thrive. Without passion about what you’re planning to do now in a pandemic atmosphere – yes, coronavirus is still with us and will be for longer than we care to admit – it will be best to retire.

Divide your analysis into these categories: you, your staff, your premises, your product and services, your supply chain and suppliers, your bank, and finally your customers. Are all of these sets ready and committed to your reopening because times will be tough and you will need understanding and assistance when you encounter bumps in the road?

 

Points to Keep in Mind

Entrepreneur magazine suggested that regardless of your individual business situation, if you’re set on staying open for the long haul, small businessmen and women should develop plans to keep the doors open as effectively and consistently as possible. Keep the following strategies in mind.

1. Get creative with limitations

2. Define your vision

3. Openly communicate with employees

4. Do a social distancing check

5. Check in with vendors

6. Start building publicity

7. Be flexible

“We’re in unprecedented times, and even with detailed planning and work ahead of time, you’ll probably still face unforeseen challenges as you reopen. You’ll need to be flexible and ready to adjust as situations change and challenges arise. Approach your company with this in mind and encourage your employees to adopt this same mindset as you negotiate the changing landscape of running your business during the crisis,” Entrepreneur advised.

A variety of local, state and federal agencies have composed a series of rules and regulations about how to reopen your business in order to keep you, your employees and consumers safe and happy while they engage with your business. Keep in mind the ones that fall into the low hanging fruit group such as disinfecting premises, social distancing and monitoring health. Their suggestions do not pertain to the strictly business side of your establishment.

Consumers are leery – no, perhaps scared – to wander beyond their homes and shop in person. Obviously this impacts your sales. This concern is not restricted to any single location but rather it exists everywhere. That is why many so-called “brick” businesses successfully converted to “click” businesses. For your endeavor that would be a sign of a flexible approach to growing sales.

 

From Bricks to Clicks

AP News reported that small businesses, especially those selling non-necessities like apparel, are struggling months after state and local governments lifted shutdown orders aimed at containing the virus. With the virus far from under control in many areas, consumers worried about getting sick are staying home and doing their purchasing online or, if they venture out, going to big stores like Walmart and Target where they can do one-stop shopping, AP wrote.

“The weak sales and erratic customer traffic have forced store owners to be creative in hopes of persuading customers to stop in rather than order from a big online retailer. But for some owners, disappointing sales and an uncertain outlook have forced them to close their stores for good and stake the future of their businesses on the internet,” it noted.

If you’re involved in foodservice, consumers are concerned that you’ll be forced to close your business, according to the National Restaurant Association. A majority of adults have said they know of a restaurant in their community that has permanently closed during the coronavirus outbreak.

This was confirmed in a new nationwide survey commissioned by the National Restaurant Association, which found that 78% of adults agree that going out to their favorite restaurant is one of the things they missed most during the last few months. Restaurants are also focal points for networking. Consumers agree that restaurants are more than just a place to grab a quick bite or celebrate an occasion. Indeed, 88% of adults say restaurants are an important part of their community.

Consequently, restaurateurs must ensure that their patrons are as safe entering their restaurants and eating their food today as they were a year ago. This level of credibility will keep your eatery profitable. Don’t forget to consult with your foodservice distributor or broadliner who is experienced and trained in providing you, its customer, with a library of suggestions on how to survive.

Another point about flexibility in foodservice, is that smaller is more profitable. Pat Cobe of Restaurant Business wrote “Call it menu simplication, streamlining or shrinkage. It’s happening in every segment of the industry, from quick-service to fine dining, as operators downsize menus to make them more efficient and profitable.

“It started at the beginning of the pandemic when takeout and delivery was the only game in town. Restaurants that remained open pared back their menus to items that traveled well and wouldn’t tax understaffed kitchens. Now that outdoor seating and limited dine-in service is available, smaller menus still make sense in many operations.”

Foodservice analyst Technomic data support the evidence that operators are eliminating SKUs and doubling down on core products. In Q2 of 2020, the menu categories that shrunk the most were adult beverages (-79.2%), kids menus (-18.9%), add-ons (-9.7%) and desserts (-4.5%), Technomic reported.

 

Inform Key Parties & Partners

As you proceed with your opening, be sure to stay in touch with your staff, your supply chain and suppliers, bank and your customers. Tell them what’s in store for them next week, next month, next season. Your staff wants to have a sense of security about its employment. Your suppliers and vendors want to have a sense of security about your financial viability. Your bank wants to know that you’re serious about staying in business. Your customers want to have a sense of security that you will be in business to satisfy their needs.

Differentiation in the marketplace will help you stand out from the businesses that have reopened in your marketplace. It’s called marketing creativity. I have written in the past that sustainability is one major, popular feature will help you grow your business and today it will keep your business top of mind for customers and media.

If you’re brave enough to launch a business in these tough times, I came across an interesting idea. Try tea, one of the most popular beverages around the world. Small Business Trends reported that starting a business that offers this healthy and delicious drink can be a rewarding and profitable experience. Read its list of popular teas: https://smallbiztrends.com/2020/08/tea-franchises.html

You can also avail yourselves of a range of cost-free consulting services for small businesses. The New Jersey Small Business Development Center comes to mind as a fantastic institution that helps entrepreneurs launch and grow their businesses https://njsbdc.com/. All states have comparable organizations. Try them and they’ll help you be a strong and positive statistic.

 

 

 

Plastic Scourge Threatens Business As Usual

While plastic is great for holding beverages, what would you do with 77 lbs. of it?

You can also sit on plastic. I read that you can manufacture 77 colorful plastic benches from 38,800 pounds of plastic or about 400 lbs. for each one.

Then there’s the story about the one that didn’t get away. Curators at a natural history museum in Davao City, the Philippines, got a call from the local marine agency: An emaciated-looking whale in the Davao Gulf was vomiting blood, listing badly as it swam, and was very likely going to die shortly. The caller urged the agency to come pick up its body.

When they brought the whale back to the lab to open it up for a necropsy, the scientists found something shocking: more than 88 lbs. of plastic waste jammed into its belly. They found plastic bursting out of its stomach. They pulled out the first bag, then the second. They filled 16 rice sacks on top of the plastic bags, and snack bags, and big tangles of nylon ropes.

As a point of comparison, the Plastic Garbage Project estimates worldwide use per capita stands at about 35 kilos or 77 lbs. That’s a lot of polymers.

Yes, humanity is faced with a staggering plastic problem that is expected to grow by leaps and bounds in the next ten years and beyond. Mankind has evolved to the point where we depend on plastic, which we find everywhere within our reach, but now we’re drowning in it – or becoming encased in it.

Plastics consist of long molecular chains, known as polymers, created by linking the same repeated building element (monomer). Synthetically produced plastics are made from mineral oil, coal, or natural gas. A total of 4 percent of the worldwide production of oil and gas is destined for the manufacture of plastics.
In addition to synthetic plastics there are also the semi-synthetics that are made from natural polymers such as cellulose. Today, organic plastics made from sustainable raw materials are being produced in increasing amounts.
The most common types of plastics, known as the mass plastics, are: polyethylene, polypropylene, PVC, polystyrene, PET, and polyurethane.

An estimated 1.3 billion tons (or more than 300 lbs. per person) of plastic is destined for our environment – both on land and in the ocean - by 2040, unless worldwide action is taken, according to a global model of the scale of the plastic problem over the next 20 years, reported the BBC.

Dr. Costas Velis from the University of Leeds was quoted as saying that the number was “staggering” but that we had “the technology and the opportunity to stem the tide.”

“This is the first comprehensive assessment of what the picture could be in 20 years’ time,” Velis explained. “It’s difficult to picture an amount that large, but if you could imagine laying out all that plastic across a flat surface, it would cover the area of the UK 1.5 times.” That’s 93,628 mi² times 1.5.

To turn this complex problem into numbers, the researchers tracked the production, use and disposal of plastic around the world. The team then created a model to forecast future plastic pollution. What they called a “business as usual” scenario – based on the current trend of increasing plastic production and no significant change in the amount of reuse and recycling – produced the 1.3 billion ton estimate.

By adjusting their model, the researchers were able to project how much different interventions would affect that number; they tweaked their model to increase recycling, reduce production and replace plastic with other available materials.

Winnie Lau from the US-based Pew Charitable Trusts, which funded the research, told BBC News that it was vital to put in place every possible solution. “If we do that,” she said, “we can reduce the amount of plastic that goes into the ocean by 2040 by 80%.” In other words there would be fewer plastic bottles bobbing up and down in the waves.

Steps the researchers called for included:

§     reducing growth in plastic production and consumption

§     substituting plastic with paper and compostable materials

§     designing products and packaging for recycling

§     expanding waste collection rates in middle/low-income countries and supporting the "informal collection" sector

§     building facilities to dispose of the 23% of plastic that cannot be recycled economically, as a transitional measure

§     reduce plastic waste exports 

Indeed, the crisis of plastics in our lives generally, and our oceans and waterways specifically, is a man-made crisis. We made the plastic, we dumped the plastic, and so the “good news” is that we can clean up the plastic. If we set our minds to the task.

But even if “all feasible action” was taken, Velis explained, the model showed there would be 710 million extra tons of plastic waste in the environment in the next two decades.

There is no “silver bullet solution,” for the plastic problem. But an often overlooked issue that this study highlighted was the fact that an estimated 2 billion people in the Global South have no access to proper waste management. “They have to just get rid of all their rubbish, so they have no choice but to burn or dump it,” said Velis.

And despite playing a major role in reducing global plastic waste, the roughly 11 million waste pickers – people who collect and sell reusable materials in low-income countries – often lack basic employment rights and safe working conditions.  

The oceans and adjacent waterways are important resources to maintain, clean and preserve, but they are not the only victims of this scourge.

Such a dramatic glut of plastic, which is virtually indestructible, would also affect land masses and life and commerce in all locations. Much of the plastic ends up in landfills, where it may take up to 1,000 years to decompose, leaching potentially toxic substances into the soil and water. Studies estimate that one third of all plastic waste ends up in soils or freshwater.

The public backlash against single use plastics is not the only consideration for businesses though it is a powerful one. Client Earth, the environmental lawyers, have just published Risk unwrapped: Plastic pollution as material business risk. Major companies face serious material business risks for their involvement in creating plastic waste, a new report shows. The report Risk unwrapped: Plastic pollution as material business risk details four types of business risk that companies may be exposed to and sets out the legal obligations on their directors to take action to deal with these risks. These include companies facing significant transition risks from fast-moving regulation, as well as major reputational damage for being perceived to be exacerbating the plastic crisis.

As with many business decisions, the customer is always right. Today, consumers demonstrate support for an issue with their purchases. Consideration for sustainability, organics, equality, inclusion, environmentalism and other such topics will not only ensure that the planet is healthy but also that your business prospers.

Tell your business and trading partners and customers that you’re involved in reducing plastic waste.

The Business Landscape has Changed

If you were to wake up years in the future like Woody Allen in the 1973 comedy “Sleeper,” you’d be surprised by what has changed in your life. Normality and almost everything that you have known to be true.

That in a broad brushstroke summarizes expectations of what business, interpersonal relations, recreation, education, sports and other activities will look like after the coronavirus pandemic dissipates.

Yesterday, on Good Morning America, New York’s Gov. Andrew Cuomo opined when asked about schooling in September that he doesn’t know if schools will be open or not. Furthermore, he said, if someone offers a reply in any direction, don’t believe it. That means that no one, regardless of how educated or experienced they are, really knows what to expect in the near or distant future. SWAG is the name of the game.

So what should we do? What should business owners and entrepreneurs do to survive – not to mention thrive – until better times?

Basically, read as much as you can, listen to as many experts as you can, consult with as many smart people that you can, follow the rules and regulations, and then plan your steps to recovery meticulously, skillfully and effectively.

The road to recovery, relaunch or reopening of your business is a minefield with all sorts of obstacles not the least of which is the continuing prevalence of the disease itself. This fact alone has transformed people’s mentalities and made their manners unpredictable.

While coronavirus is being contained on one side of the country, it is spreading or spiking in other parts. It may be under control in one neighborhood of your marketplace while spreading on the other side of town.

As of this writing, the US death toll from the coronavirus illness is approaching 120,000, amid reports that nine states are recording either single-day record numbers of cases or their highest seven-day new case averages, indicating they are not managing to contain the spread. Some experts foresee between 130,000 and 140,000 deaths by the Fourth of July. Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Nevada, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina and Texas are seeing infections climb, according to a Washington Post analysis. The COVID-19 pandemic has killed some 445,000 globally already.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute for Allergies and Infectious Diseases, said the current talk of a second wave of infections is irrelevant because the country is still dealing with the first wave. “We are seeing infections to a greater degree than they had previously seen in certain states, including states in the southwest and in the south,” Fauci said. “I don’t like to talk about a second wave right now, because we haven’t gotten out of our first wave.”

Nostradamus Arises

But Nostradamus predictions by reputable experts of a deadlier second wave in the fall are visible throughout the Internet, poisoning consumers’ behavior. Peering farther into the future, some analysts say there is at least a one-in-three chance that at least one of four major tail risks will occur within the next decade with major power outages as electrical power grids are disrupted: a major influenza pandemic killing more than 2 million people; a globally catastrophic volcanic eruption; a major solar flare; or a global war. Adjust the time frame to two decades, then there is a 56% chance of one of these disasters occurring, the analysts say, based on various studies and risk assessments.

After weeks at home, a stagnant economy, rising unemployment, padlocked businesses, schools and places of entertainment, and fear, the country is reawakening. Sadly, Americans aren’t cooperating with experts’ advice and frantically escaping their corrals, contributing to spikes and record numbers of hospitalizations as thousands more Americans get infected every day.

“We’re going to have to face the harsh reality in some states that we may need to shut down again,” Dr. Jonathan Reiner, a professor at George Washington University School of Medicine, was quoted as saying.

“Because of quarantine fatigue, because of the economic effects of quarantine, another round of shutdowns might have even larger effects on businesses that may be on the edge of not being able to stay solvent," warned Dr. Christopher Murray, director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington.

Experts offer three suggestions on curbing the spread of coronavirus: social distancing, masks and washing hands. Based on limited compliance with the first two it could then be safe to say that handwashing is also being belittled.

Gallup reported that about 67% of women said they had worn a mask outside their homes, compared with 56% of men, which was based on a random sample of 2,451 adults in the United States and had a margin of error of 3 percentage points. President Trump notoriously falls into the category of abstainers. Without delving into partisan affiliations, the survey found that people who live in a county that has recorded at least one coronavirus-related death are more likely to wear masks than people who live in counties that have recorded no deaths from the virus, according to the Gallup poll. Those who decline to wear masks say donning them is a sign of weakness or an infringement on their freedom of choice.

In New York City, some 80% of residents while nearly 79% of Los Angeles residents said they always wear masks in public, according to a nationally representative survey published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. However, outside of the two cities, 60% of Americans responded that they always wear masks in public.

Americans’ anarchistic and anti-science thinking will not benefit their communities, businesses and the world in the long run.

Feelings of Good Times Evaporate

Ironically, leading up to the pandemic catastrophe, small businesses had been optimistic about their prospects in 2020. Sales projections looked good. Then the bottom fell away. According to Princeton Economics, this spring surveyed small business owners were already severely impacted by COVID-19-related disruptions: 60% had already laid off at least one worker. Business owners’ expectations about the future were negative and deteriorated over time, with 37% of respondents in the first week reporting that they did not expect to recover within two years. That number grew to 46% by April 19. The proportion reporting that they didn’t expect to ever recover decreased by 0.4 percentage points per day, with only half of respondents believing their business would never recover within two years by the final week of the survey.

A recent study for the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research showed the number of active business owners in the United States had plunged by 3.3 million or 22% from February to April when the coronavirus shut down the economy, the steepest decline on record.

There is no question we are entering a deep and sharp recession, unfamiliar to economists as the virus is unfamiliar to the medical profession. Forecasters keep revising their predictions downward, with some now seeing an up to 40% drop in second quarter GDP.

Projected damage varies by industry. Overall, 38% of the small firms think they would still be open after a six-month crisis, but that drops to 27% for tourism and lodging firms, and only a 15% survival rate for restaurants.  And, as the authors note, entrepreneurs are notoriously optimistic, so “true survival rates may be even lower.” 

From a macroeconomic standpoint, the swiftness of closings is the biggest problem. Normally, around a third of small firms with employees fail in their first two years, and only about 50% survive for five years. But the pandemic crisis is compressing these closures into a very short time, which in turn drives down overall economic demand, in a negative spiral.

The economic toll from the first round of shutdowns has been staggering. More than 44 million people in the United States have filed for initial unemployment benefits since mid-March. The prognosis for a quick and painless recovery is not great. Many large and small businesses have already closed their doors while others face this unfortunate demise in the future. Everyone is loving their nerves.

According to the Small Business Administration (SBA), a small business is any firm with 1–499 employees. Under this definition, small businesses make up 47.3% of all private-sector employees but a whopping 61% of new jobs. So even a minor disruption in small businesses could affect a large portion of employees and the economy, especially during attempts at recovery. Seven and a half million small businesses will shut permanently if business disruption caused by COVID-19 continues unabated, according to a new survey from Main Street America. 

That sounds the death knell for a vital segment of America that is dependent on regular economic prosperity.

Reopening Steps in New Jersey

Unable to keep small business owners closed, governors are allowing them to open gradually their doors and begin servicing customers. For example, New Jersey’s Gov. Phil Murphy order provided clarification on how other businesses in the state may function, stating that:

• Restaurants and indoor recreational and entertainment businesses are permitted to allow individuals to tour their facilities for event-planning purposes, but such individuals must wear face coverings at all times and the facility may not provide food or drink tastings or samplings;

• Students, who may be accompanied by parents or guardians, may enter school premises to retrieve personal belongings from lockers, classrooms, or other areas;

• Open houses to view real estate are permitted, provided they comply with the restrictions on indoor gatherings, including the requirement that attendees wear face coverings;

• Bicycle shops, boat dealerships, car and used car dealerships, farming equipment stores, federal firearms licensees, livestock feed stores, mobile phone retail and repair shops, motorcycle dealerships, and nurseries and garden centers can operate according to the requirements placed on essential retail businesses;

• All car washes can operate according to the requirements placed on essential retail businesses;

• Yard and garage sales are permitted subject to the requirements on indoor gatherings, but municipalities shall have the discretion to impose additional restrictions on these sales;

• Special events, including fireworks displays, at public and private beaches, boardwalks, lakes, and lakeshores are permitted, subject to the restrictions on outdoor gatherings; and

• Shared space tutoring service facilities remain closed to students and clients.

These are more or less comparable across the country.

You may be chomping at the bit to open your business after weeks of being closed down, but it’s important to do so carefully. Budget for the new expenses you might face, assess your staffing needs, and continue adapting to these turbulent times so your business can survive the pandemic, and perhaps even thrive during it.

Erratic Consumer Behavior

Consumers’ behavior will impact your business because you will have to decide how to deal with those who aren’t ready to comply with the safety rules and regulations. Will you sell to them? Will you allow them into your place of business without face coverings?

To protect your customers and employees you may have to consider taking everyone’s temperature. However, will temperature checks make workplaces safe? According to experts, no, not completely. They can help reduce the risk of COVID-19 infections but shouldn’t be the only safety measure employers take.

Business owners, managers and employers should be aware that screening for fevers alone won’t eliminate risk. This becomes a new task for the human resources staff. People with the virus can be contagious without a fever, so it’s still important for employers to increase space between workers, disinfect surfaces and encourage hand washing. Employers have been seen installing Purell or other hand-washing stations in their places of business. A person’s temperature can be taken with a no-touch infrared thermometer pointed at the forehead, and workers can use the devices to take their own temperatures, using hand sanitizer before and after.

Restaurants are typical examples of small businesses and because they deal with food preparation and hungry patrons they’re under tighter scrutiny than other enterprises. They are also suffering more than others.

New research from the National Restaurant Association indicates that the restaurant industry has lost $120 billion in sales during the last three months due to the impact of coronavirus in the United States.

State mandated stay-at-home policies and forced closures of restaurants resulted in losses of $30 billion in March, $50 billion in April, and another $40 billion in May.

The association’s latest operator survey drew more than 3,800 responses, illustrating the extensive damage to restaurant businesses since the outbreak began. It found that the restaurant industry, which experienced the most significant sales and job losses of any industry in the country in the first quarter of 2020, expects to lose $240 billion by the year-end.

Social Distancing Leads to New Restaurant Budget

The social distancing requirement will certainly affect restaurants’ already impacted bottom lines. Foodservice operators need a pre-determined amount of sales per table to be profitable and the six-foot prerequisite will certainly erode their profits.

While waiting to open for al fresco or inside dining, many restaurants have been offering takeout service, which has its own set of new supplies, equipment and cost demands.

Like many retailers and other professions, foodservice also has had to invest in personal protective equipment such as overalls, masks and gloves, which is an extra costly line item. As a result, some American and Canadian restaurants have been seen adding a noticeable COVID-19 surcharge to their receipts totaling 5% of the bill. Will consumers accept that freely?

When given a choice between shopping and dining, consumers have chosen the former. That’s the finding from the latest survey from S&P Global Market Intelligence, which polled 1,250 people between April 30 and May 18. When restrictions let up, 44% of consumers said they planned to head back to stores. But only 31% said they’d dine out. After three months, the dine-out result rose to 40%.

Not that it should deteriorate to a battle between the two business segments, but restaurants can improve their odds by demonstrating the integrity of their menu selections at the time of the pandemic, offer patrons a pleasant and inviting ambiance, and assure them of a safe and healthy environment.

When you’re opening the doors to your business – food or non-food, you should pay attention to these issues: Safety and sanitizing procedures, your staffing needs, and being flexible with your business model.

The latter two points suggest that you should consider temporary staffing adjustments or reductions and not being married to your original business plan if you want to survive.

According to Luke Saunders, founder-CEO of the Farmer’s Fridge vending company, the future of the food business will be different. Among the differentiating points to consider are: food safety will be the new organic question, patrons will trim food-away-from-home budgets, closing the kitchen to the public eye, no more self-serve, 50% fewer tables, lines will not be a sign of success but rather poor management, limited menus and technology dominance.

The CDC recommends that restaurant layouts should be modified to allow for at least six-foot social distancing by marking tables that are not in use. Physical guides, such as tape on floors or sidewalks and signage, should also be used. Crowds should be discouraged through the use of phone apps, text technology, or signs to alert patrons when their table is ready. Buzzers and other shared objects should not be used, and self-serve food and drink options such as buffets, salad bars and drink stations should be avoided.

New Supermarket Traffic Patterns

In supermarkets, consumers that had begun to drift to the fresh produce sections have been seen wandering into the center aisles to buy packaged and dry goods. But COVID-19 quarantines and lockdowns have reversed the fresh trend, with shoppers clearing out shelf-stable products in recent months. 

Nielsen data sent to Food Dive showed exponential growth in these categories over the last nine weeks. Beans saw 82.1% growth, canned and pouch tuna jumped 75.6% and rice sales increased 84.5%​, according to Nielsen figures. 

“During the pandemic, consumers have begun to find comfort and a sense of safety in making sure they have enough food on hand,” Melanie Zanoza Bartelme, global food analyst at Mintel, told Food Dive. “Shelf-stable goods like beans and tuna offer a long shelf life and will 'be there' when consumers need them.”

This touches upon another consumer issue. I’ve seen shoppers obnoxiously defy supermarket traffic patterns clearly displayed on the floor that are intended to limit encounters in narrow aisles.

With the hint of reopening in the air, retail sales in May showed a 17.7% increase, the Department of Commerce announced, numbers that stood in sharp relief to the two previous months – there was a 14.7 percent drop in April and an 8.3 percent decline in March. However, The New York Times reported, “the underlying data presents a more complicated picture and shows just how arduous an economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic will be.

“The May numbers followed two months of record declines, and overall sales were still down 8% from February. Some categories, like clothing, were down as much as 63% from a year earlier. And many of the stores and restaurants that welcomed back customers last month did so with fewer employees, reflecting a permanently altered retail landscape and an ominous sign for the labor market.”

The story notes that “May’s retail sales figures became the latest data point fueling the debate in Washington and on Wall Street about whether a broad reopening of businesses will cause the economy to snap back quickly or if additional stimulus measures are needed.”

While competition among all businesses will be stiffer as the country opens up, those firms that demonstrate strict and visible adherence to official Centers for Disease Control regulations will edge out their competitors. Successful businesses will have to be quicker in launching new products and new marketing campaigns. They should take advantage of seasonal events that are celebrated, often worldwide, every year to promote their businesses such as Valentine's Day, Christmas, Black Friday, Easter, 4th of July, Thanksgiving, Chinese New Year, Halloween, Mother's Day and Father’s Day. Seasonal stories also include the four seasons: spring, summer, autumn/fall, and winter.

Pitching seasonal stories is a great way of getting regular media exposure and as the event happens at the same time every year, business owners can prepare for them in advance and use the same or similar angle year after year. Journalists accept story ideas that are current which makes seasonal stories very attractive to them and the good news is linking your business to a seasonal event and coming up with a seasonal story can be easy.

Digital Economy to be Key

We are heading into an intensified digital marketplace after coronavirus with consumers favoring online purchases rather than in person. Business owners can also benefit from this trend. Nearly 1/3 of small business owners have admitted that without digital tools they would have had to close all or part of their business during the COVID crisis. American small businesses are relying more on digital tools during the COVID crisis, with 76% saying that they’re relying more on digital tools to run their business. One-third of small businesses say that they will rely more on digital tools moving forward from the COVID crisis. A lot of business owners have learned from COVID-19 the importance of adapting. As you reopen, think about the evolving needs of customers & aim to accommodate. 40% of small businesses say they’ve relied on digital tools to find new customers during the #COVID19 crisis; 36% say they have used digital tools to pivot to online sales.

If you’re stuck coming up with a course of action, consider a Bloomberg discovery. In December 2017 Bloomberg made headlines when it published a report that suggested inclusive teams made better decisions up to 87% of the time. The report also noted that having more inclusive decision-making led to swifter decisions. As a contemporary solution, inclusiveness takes into account race, gender, age, and physically challenged people.

Recent newspaper articles have observed that the governments that have apparently dealt well with the COVID-19 pandemic, such as New Zealand, Germany and Taiwan, are those that have women in key positions. A wider analysis will be needed in due course to decide if the mere presence of women makes a difference, but a 2019 World Economic Forum report noted that having women in decision-making positions across different state-level governments in Canada made a measurable difference to health.

In order to attract and keep employees, you may have to consider new perks for them. Two hot ones nowadays are working from home to a greater or lesser degree or working four days a week.

Show your current and potential customers that you are sensitive to contemporary issues such as sustainability which usually helps businesses grow and expand.

All of this is important as the world’s governments claim to want to build back better or rebuild a better world after the immediate health and socio-economic impacts of the COVID-19 crisis have passed.

Going forward, seek sound advice from a host of free business consultative services such as the Small Business Administration (https://www.sba.gov/), America’s Small Business Development Centers (https://americassbdc.org/) and its state affiliations such as the New Jersey Small Business Development Centers (https://njsbdc.com/), SCORE (https://www.score.org/) and others.

I don’t know if what’s ahead of us is a brave, new world, but it certainly isn’t for the faint of heart. You had the skills, education, training, determination and attitude to launch your endeavor so relying on these characteristics today should carry you to better days.

AS A BONUS, here is a link to the 50 best blogs that every B2B marketer should follow:

https://business.linkedin.com/marketing-solutions/blog/b2b-content-marketing/2018/The-50-blogs-every-B2B-marketer-should-follow?src=li-scin&mcid=6607434924943335424